In the coming days, the first hotels in Crete will open for this season, as reported in Tornos News by Manolis Tsakalakis, President of the Crete Hoteliers Association and the Rethymno Hoteliers Association.
Moreover, in the coming days, international tour operators will also slowly unfold their excursion program for the flagship of Greek tourism, with their dynamic start taking place in May and of course peaking in the summer months.
Focusing on the very positive estimates that speak of arrivals at last year’s highs, always for Crete, Mr. Tsakalakis holds a small basket and is quick to declare that “everything that is heard and written must be confirmed at the end of the season when the final checkout takes place in October”.
The first charters on March 27
Meanwhile, on March 27, the first charters landed at Nikos Kazantzakis, carrying mainly German visitors to the island. It is noted that the slots (flight plans) at the “N. Kazantzakis” airport show impressive demand, even from countries that are not considered traditional markets for the Cretan tourism industry, with all that this implies for the development of this year on the island.
Remaining in the hospitality sector, the bulk of hotels in Crete will open from April 10 to 12, due to the Easter holidays, which this year is celebrated by Catholics and Orthodox on the same dates. However, as Mr. Tsakalakis explains, the current situation does not provide high occupancy rates in the island’s accommodations for a long time.
In any case, Mr. Tsakalakis speaks of a belly that will appear in tourist arrivals after Easter and until the beginning of May in Crete, which is traditionally the case. However, May is the month when all hotels on the island will be open and in full readiness to welcome the hordes of tourists from foreign markets.
THE WORKERS FROM ABROAD
In the past few days, Mr. Tsakalakis, together with the presidents of the remaining hotel associations on the island, met with the regional governor of Crete, Stavros Arnaoutakis, where all the issues that concern the sector were raised. Labor for another year is the major issue for tourist units, with hotel units at the start of the season starting with approximately 6,000 fewer employees. At this point, it should be emphasized that the issue of transferable employees from abroad is moving with a delay, as Mr. Tsakalakis notes, with all that this entails for the smooth operation of tourist businesses.
RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations, Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report
